Trey Webb is off to a solid start with Potomac, hitting .302. (Shawn E. Davis / AP) MiLB Headlines Javs edge Dogs, win AFL title LA's Mitchell wins Stenson Award Desme named AFL MVP Path of the Pros: Ian Kinsler No surgery needed for Strasburg New BayBears logo reflects past Promo Preview: Charitable deeds Leake ends whirlwind year strong Double-A All-Stars named Rickwood Classic marks milestone AFL Championship preview D-backs get Heilman from Cubs ADVERTISEMENT

Print this page   E-mail this page

WHO'S HOT: Second baseman Paco Figueroa hit .450 with four RBIs for the week to raise his average on the season to .319, fifth in the Carolina League. Four of the Keys' five starters have ERAs below 4.00, including Garrett Olson who lowered his ERA to 3.47 with 46 strikeouts, tied for third in the league. Radhames Liz, Kevin Hart and Luis Ramirez (3.97) are the other three.

BIG GAMES: Catcher Mike Russell now has four homers on the season and all came in multi-homer games. He hit two on May 14 in an 8-7 extra-inning loss to Kinston after hitting two in his first game of the season. His five RBIs have all come on those four swings.

GOTTA HAVE HART: Kevin Hart, a Maryland alum, has allowed just nine earned runs in his last six starts and has allowed just one earned run in four of his starts this season. He took the tough 2-0 loss in the first game of a doubleheader against Myrtle Beach May 16, allowing one earned run in 6 1/3 innings, to lower his ERA to 2.66, ninth in the league.

LIZ LOSS: Radhames Liz had perhaps his toughest outing of the year May 19, taking his first loss, 4-3, to Kinston, but still led the league with a 1.47 ERA and 61 strikeouts. His 12.77 strikeouts per nine innings ranks second in the Minors. Liz allowed a season-high six hits and four walks in five innings and gave up his first homer of the year in the loss.

Kinston Indians (Cleveland Indians)
WEEK IN REVIEW: The Indians went 6-1 with their only loss a 7-6 squeaker against Potomac. They also beat the Nationals three times and won both of their outings against Frederick.

WHO'S HOT: Catcher Wyatt Toregas hit .467 on the week to raise his average to .330 with three homers and 16 RBIs. He hasn't had enough at-bats to qualify for the league leaders, or he'd be second in the loop. Outfielder Jordan Brown batted .500 in five games and the club won all five, as he added two homers and seven RBIs. Outfielder Ryan Goleski was hitting .310 and led the league with seven homers and 34 RBIs.

K-POWER: Three Kinston pitchers ranked in the top 10 in ERA with Chuck Lofgren (1.67) second, Joe Ness 92.31) sixth and Aaron Laffey (2.41) seventh, but Scott Lewis didn't have enough innings to qualify for the leader board. If he did, he'd be sitting atop the list with his 0.56 ERA. On a pitch limit as he returns from shoulder and elbow trouble, Lewis allowed one hit in 4 2/3 innings in his last start, May 15, and has walked three and allowed two earned runs in his 32 innings this year, striking out 45.

LOTS TO CROWE ABOUT: Outfielder Trevor Crowe, the Indians' top pick in 2005 out of Arizona, has continued to put up good numbers across the board and his 36 runs tied for second in the Minors. If he finishes an RBI or two off the league lead, he can turn to a May 14 game in which his two-out bases-loaded single in the 10th gave his team the 8-7 win against Frederick. Since the score was tied, only the first run counted. He also hit a game-winning homer in the fifth inning of the club's 4-3 victory against Frederick May 19, the first homer hit off Radhames Liz this year.

SNAP BUT STILL HOT: Brian Barton had his Minor-League-best hitting streak snapped at 22 games May 16 in a doubleheader against Potomac but still led the league with a .339 average and was tied for second with six homers.

Lynchburg Hillcats (Pittsburgh Pirates)
WEEK IN REVIEW: The Hillcats went 2-5 on the week and have lost four in a row, including three games to Winston-Salem. They earlier went 2-2 against Wilmington.

WHO'S HOT: Outfielder Pedro Powell, who moved into the leadoff spot when Nyjer Morgan went on the DL, hit .471 on the week with three steals and now has 14 steals. Shortstop Brian Bixler is second in the league with a .324 average. Reliever Steven Duguay has six saves and a 1.72 ERA.

NOT SO HOTT AGAINST THE CATS: Wilmington's Tommy Hottovy may be one of the top pitchers in the league, but Lynchburg has his number. After allowing four earned runs in 33 2/3 innings, he faced Lynchburg twice in a row and they pounded him for eight earned runs on 16 hits in 13 1/3 innings.

AILING: Outfielder Nyjer Morgan was leading the Minors with 21 steals and among the league leaders with a .320 average when he was placed on the DL with a strained hamstring. The 'Cats recalled Chaz Lytle from Altoona to replace him and slid Pedro Powell into his leadoff slot in the lineup.

NOT AILING ANYMORE: The Hillcats received catcher Neil Walker from extended spring on May 19. Walker, the Pirates' top pick in the 2004 draft, had been sidelined since December when he underwent wrist surgery. He is considered one of the top two or three prospects in the system.

CLOSE CALL: The Hillcats salvaged the nightcap of a May 16 doubleheader against Wilmington, 1-0, on a controversial call when reliever Felipe Garcia drove in the game-winner with a two-out infield single. Garcia was hitting for himself because the team had run out of relievers and extra players.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Atlanta Braves)
WEEK IN REVIEW: The Pelicans were riding a five-game losing streak after winning their first game of the week, the first game in a doubleheader against Frederick. They lost the next two to the Keys and were swept in three games by Wilmington.

WHO'S HOT: Outfielder Onil Joseph hit .435 for the week to raise his season average to .299. Reliever Arthur Santos is 4-0 with a 1.11 ERA. First baseman Greg Creek had a nine-game hitting streak snapped May 20.

HOME COOKING WANTED: The Pelicans were 4-17 on the road and 15-6 at home, so they no doubt looked forward to opening an eight-game homestand on Monday.

UP TO PARR: James Parr took the 2-0 loss to Wilmington May 19, despite his second strong outing in a row. Parr lowered his ERA to 3.63 over his last two starts, allowing two earned runs and walking just one in 13 innings while striking out 17. He was emerging as a complementary ace to southpaw Matt Harrison.

AND SPEAKING OF MATT: He was back in form May 16 picking up the team's lone win, the 2-0 shutout of Frederick in the opening of a doubleheader. He allowed four hits over seven shutout innings to lower his ERA to 2.90, 10th in the league. He'd given up a season-high six runs in his previous outing, also against the Keys.

Potomac Nationals (Washington Nationals)
WEEK IN REVIEW: The Nationals went 2-4 during a roller-coaster week which saw two games suspended by rain and then back-to-back doubleheaders against Kinston. They lost three of four to the Indians and split two games against Salem.

WHO'S HOT: Second baseman Trey Webb maintained his spot in the league's top 10, hitting .302 (ninth). Closer Brett Campbell was second in the league with seven saves and with a 1.50 ERA.

OUCH OUCH OUCH AHHH: The Nationals faced Kinston in back-to-back doubleheaders, losing the first set by identical 6-0 scores May 16 and falling 12-4 in the next night's opener before finally pulling out a 7-6 victory to salvage the series. The club scored single runs in the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth innings of that last game as infielder Marcos Yepez, back that day from Double-A Harrisburg, went 3-for-3 with two RBIs.

VROOOOOOOOOM: The Nats were one-hit by the Salem Avalanche May 19, with the role of spoiler being played by an unlikely source. Doug Vroman, who had just two hits all year, delivered a pinch-hit single in the ninth to keep the Nationals from ending up on the wrong side of an entry in the league history book. He was batting .087 coming into the game.

Salem Avalanche (Houston Astros)
WEEK IN REVIEW: The Avalanche went 3-2, splitting two games against Potomac and going 2-1 against Winston-Salem.

WHO'S HOT: Beau Torbert hit .474 with four RBIs for the week to raise his average to .322, good for third in the league. Catcher Lou Santangelo was having a little trouble bringing his average up, but his five home runs and 24 RBIs both paced the club.

SO CLOSE: The Avalanche came within a ninth-inning single of a no-hitter May 19, when they one-hit Potomac, 9-0. Troy Patton tossed six innings of no-hit ball and the bullpen held the fort until a single in the ninth, allowed to pinch-hitter Doug Vroman, who was hitting .087 coming into the game. Patton lowered his ERA to 3.92 with the gem.

CHAD HANGING IN THERE: Chad Reineke also lowered his ERA to 1.78, allowing one run over seven innings in a 3-1 victory against Winston-Salem May 17. The Warthogs helped out by committing five errors in the game. Reineke, now third in the league in ERA, has allowed either one or no earned runs in six of his eight starts.

EEEEEEE TO THE 'PEN: Evan Englebrook posted a 2.97 ERA in his eight games this year, but now moves to the bullpen as injured starter Ronnie Martinez will rejoin the club from extended Spring Training to take his spot in the rotation.

Wilmington Blue Rocks (Boston Red Sox)
WEEK IN REVIEW: The Blue Rocks went 5-2 on the week, sweeping a three-game set from Myrtle Beach and splitting four games with Lynchburg.

WHO'S HOT: Outfielder Jeff Corsaletti hit his first three homers of the season to lead the league in that department for the week, driving in a league-high nine runs as well. Closer Michael James' 10 saves led the league and he sports a 1.53 ERA. Outfielder Claudio Arias and first baseman Ian Bladergroen were both tied for second in the league with six homers.

HOT AGAIN: After struggling in his last two starts, giving up eight earned runs to Lynchburg, Tommy Hottovy rebounded May 20 to beat Myrtle Beach and cap a sweep of the Pelicans, allowing one run on four hits over seven innings and striking out a season-best eight batters. He lowered his ERA to 2.17 with the gem and struck out 11 batters on the week, tops in the league.

SUPER MARIO: Making his season debut from extended Spring Training, 21-year-old Nicaraguan southpaw Mario Pena tossed four innings of three-hit shutout ball May 19 in a 2-0 victory against Myrtle beach. Scott Shoemaker got the win in relief with three innings of two-hit ball. It marked the sixth game the Blue Rocks went without making an error.

ROAD WARRIOR: Andrew Dobies had won four of his five victories on the road, including a 4-3 win against Lynchburg May 17. He had also been enjoying run support, as this marked the first time in eight starts that his team had scored fewer than five runs for him.

Winston-Salem Warthogs (Chicago White Sox)
WEEK IN REVIEW: The Warthogs were 4-2 on the week, losing two of three to Salem before taking three in a row from Lynchburg.

WHO'S HOT: Catcher Donny Lucy hit .500 for the week to raise his average to .306, the only member of the team over .300. He was eighth in the league in batting. Infielder Victor Mercedes led the Minors with 10 sacrifice bunts.

LUCK WITH LUCAS: Right-hander Lucas Harrell tossed 10 innings and allowed one run in that span, lowering his ERA to 1.91 (fourth in the league) and his average against to .145 (tops in the Minors).

TRICKLE DOWN: The Warthogs sent intriguing Brazilian outfielder Anderson Gomes to Kannapolis, a day after he hit his second home run of the year, and got veteran Chris Amador from Birmingham to replace him. Amador, 23, is in his seventh season with the White Sox and this marks the fourth time he's played at Winston-Salem in as many years. He went 3-for-4 with three RBIs in his debut May 18, a 10-7 loss to Salem.

TIMELY SWEEP: The Warthogs swept a pair from Lynchburg, 3-1 and 5-1, on May 19 with White Sox GM Ken Williams in the stands.

Lisa Winston is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.

Print this page   E-mail this page